05/08/2006

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
The DeYoung farmhouse, part of the proposed DeYoung Natural Area, would have its roof repaired so that the old home can be restored later. For more photos, see our DeYoung Farm photo gallery.

Conservancy eyes parcel

DeYoung property is surrounded by development

by christine finger

cfinger@record-eagle.com

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
From left, Barry and Sherry Stein of Haslett and Norm Brokaw of Traverse City hike at the proposed DeYoung Natural Area. For more photos, see our DeYoung Farm photo gallery.

TRAVERSE CITY — The 145-acre family farmstead still looks a lot like it did when Louis DeYoung worked it, and the Leelanau Conservancy wants to keep it that way.

The nonprofit put down $50,000 in December for an option to buy the DeYoung property in Leelanau County, nestled in an area of Elmwood Township surrounded by rapid development. But fundraising lags as a June 1 purchase deadline looms.

Project costs are estimated at about $2 million. Thus far, the group has raised about $150,000.

Plans call for preserving it as a natural area open to the public for hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing and wildlife observation.

Jenee Rowe, the conservancy's stewardship director, stood outside an aging, mustard-colored farmhouse along Cherry Bend Road on a recent hike through the property. She said the parcel, located just outside Traverse City near the Leelanau Trail, epitomizes the type of places the group wants to preserve.

"We want to be able to enjoy them and bring our families to them," she said.

Louis DeYoung bought the farm west of Cedar Lake in 1925, and he and his wife Esther raised two children in the farmhouse. They first tended dairy cattle, and after weathering the Depression planted eight acres of tart cherries — a successful gamble that marked the early wave of the area's cherry industry.

The property stretches across Cherry Bend Road and features nearly a mile of undeveloped Cedar Lake shoreline, clear streams and hilltop views of Grand Traverse Bay.

Rowe paused in a remnant section of cherry orchard that will need to be removed because the trees can harbor insects that cause problems for neighboring farmers. Conservancy specialists are working to find another agricultural use for the land, she said.

"They would love to see this in apples or peaches," she said.

The land became available when DeYoung died in 2004. His family is working with the conservancy to preserve the property that if sold to a developer could hold up to 100 homes.

Possible improvements include a boardwalk trail near Cedar Lake and foot paths through the property that could connect to the Leelanau Trail.

The conservancy also is working with Elmwood Township. Officials there recently approved an updated recreation plan to integrate the DeYoung property into both organizations' long-term plans.

"This project has drawn out some great partnerships," Rowe said.

The nonprofit also wants to preserve the original character of the farmhouse — it already is replacing the roof — and other buildings on the property, perhaps adapting them to other uses.

"We need to keep it where it is," Rowe said. "And the barnyard is as important as the buildings."

Since the conservancy does not yet own the land, it has since March led guided hikes through the farmstead. Upcoming hikes are scheduled for May 20, June 10, June 24, July 12 and July 26. To register or to find out how to make a donation, call the conservancy at (231) 256-9665.